Israel’s water efficiency and productivity have enabled a country made up of mostly desert to maintain a reliable, plentiful supply of fresh water — and even export some of its supply, according to author and activist Seth M. Siegel, who addressed about 400 people at Cal Poly’s Spanos Theatre on Wednesday night.

Siegel said Israel has always faced severe and urgent water challenges, and had to overcome them to support a rapid influx of Jewish immigrants during the Zionist movement.

As hopes that a much-hyped “Godzilla” El Niño event will banish California’s record drought fade, the state is starting to look for clues from overseas on how to conserve each increasingly precious drop that does fall on its parched land.

The water capture efforts of Australia, itself plagued by a lengthy recent drought, are in the sights of Californian politicians mindful of how the pulses of rain that did arrive in January resulted in much of the water washing out into the sea.

Fisherman, boaters, and campers are eager to return to popular lakes for recreation as Central California reservoirs are filling up thanks to the recent storms and incoming snow melt.

Pardee Lake in Amador County is 97 percent full and Camanche Reservoir in Calaveras County has refilled to almost 70 percent of capacity. Lake Don Pedro in Tuolumne County, which covers 15 square miles, has risen to 60 percent of capacity. Don Pedro Recreation Director Chris Collett says the month of March brought a miracle increase, a 30 foot rise in the lake level.